The Open Road
by Zekshiram
Summary: Kura Laine reluctantly starts on her journey in Kanto, but she doesn't have it as good as some other Trainers. Her starter is a Rattata, and she didn't get a Pokedex. But then she meets Tyler White, a Trainer with semi decent skills. And, as you can guess, she falls in love with him. Along the way, she has mysteries to solve, such as why she can understand Pokemon speech. First fic


**The First Day**

"Wake up! You're already late enough as it is!"

Kura groaned and rolled over in her bed. When she cracked one of her eyes open, she saw her mom staring down at her. "Please just five more minutes."

Her mom rolled her eyes. "You said that fifteen minutes ago, Kura. Profesaser Oak won't wait forever you know. He might be out of Pokemon when you get there. Then what would you do?"

"I'd be happy," Kura muttered in reply. "I never wanted to go on a journey."

With a sigh of dissapointment, her mother yanked her sheets off the bed. "It'll be good for you. Going out of the confines of Pallet Town."

Kura finally got out of bed, yawning and stretching. "I like it here in Pallet Town, the slow pace, the calmness. I don't want the hectic life of a Trainer."

"I understand," her mother replied. "But you need to leave home on your own, learn to provide for yourself."

Kura thought it through. She honestly didn't want to travel around Kanto, although she didn't know why. She just never liked the idea of it.

"I'll go," she finally said. "But if being a Trainer sucks, I'm coming right home."

Her mother nodded. "That's fine with me. I just want you to get the feel of a journey. To find out things about yourself that you never knew."

"I'll change and eat breakfast, and then I'll be on my way," Kura said, opening her closet anf rummaging through her clothes. She settled for a simple black tee shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

Her mom had gotten her a backpack, and Kura tossed two more tee-shirts, a red one and a green one in the pack, along with two more pairs of jeans. "Keep it simple," she told herself.

Kura walked down stairs, tossing her pack next to the door and sitting down in a chair. Her mother brought her a plate full of pancakes, and Kura scarfed them down.

"Before you leave," her mother said, taking the empty plate. "I want to lay down some ground rules. First, call me each day so I know you're alright."

"Fine," Kura said, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Two, make sure to brush your teeth and change your clothes everyday."

"Yeah, whatever." Kura darted out the door before her mom could hamper her with anymore rules. "I'll call you later!"

Pallet Town was rather small, with only a few houses, and Oak's Pokemon Lab. Around the Lab, a horde of teens were outside, chatting with each other as they began to walk in several directions, each one holding a Pokeball.

Kura felt a twinge of fear. What if there weren't anymore Pokemon left. She would have to wait until next year. "As if that's a bad thing," she muttered. But then she thought again. She had never seen a Pokemon up close, so she thought she could stop to see if any were left.

"Exuse me, Professer Oak?" Kura asked as she opened to door to the lab. Computers and bookshelves filled up the room, making a mess.

A gray-haired man wearing a lab coat turned around. "Yes, can I help you?"

"You wouldn't happen to have any more Pokemon left, would you?" Kura walked into the lab, avoiding eye contact by looking around the room.

Oak scratched the back of his neck. "Um...well..."

"Oh, I guess not," Kura turned to the door, ready to head back to her normal lifestyle.

"There is one left," Oak said, stopping her. "But it's not really one that most Trainers would consider a strong Pokemon."

Kura's heart raced. She was about to become a Trainer, despite the fact that she didn't want to be on ten minutes ago. "I can have it?" she asked cautiously.

"I guess, if you want," Oak said, holding out a Pokeball.

A smile crossed Kura's face as she took the Pokeball, and pressed the button to release the Pokemon inside. It was a small, purple mouse.

"Holy hell," the mouse said, stretching his muscles. "Them balls are tight."

Kura's eyes widened as the mouse looked around the room. "Is everything alright?" Oak asked, noticing her expression.

_Maybe I'm just going crazy, _Kura thought. "Um...yeah. Everything's just peachy."

"Well then," Oak continued, not convinced. "Your Pokemon is a Rattata. It's pretty common, but they can put up a good fight sometimes."

Kura nodded. "So I go to Viridian City, north of here, and then on to the rest of Kanto with this guy. I can catch more, right?"

"Yes," Oak reached into his pocket, and produced five small Pokeballs, shrunken down for storage. "Use these."

Kura took the balls. "I already know how to catch Pokemon. I watched a lot of TV." She looked down at her Rattata. "I guess then Ratt and I will hit the road."

"I wish you luck," Oak said. "And check in with me at Pokemon Centers whenever you can to discuss what types of Pokemon you meet, since I was unable to give you a Pokedex."

"Okay...no prob," Kura answered as she walked out of the door. "No clue what a Pokedex is," she muttered to herself. "Come on Ratt, we have places to go."

Ratt scoffed. "You know we really need to talk about that nickname," he said, calmly looking up at her.

Kura froze in her tracks. "You...you...you can talk?"

"Um...no," Ratt answered simply. "But, perhaps you can understand Pokemon speech."

"But...how?"

"To hell if I know, but it's know to happen from time to time."

_This is all a dream. _Kura told herself. _This has to be one fucked up dream. _"Um...shall we go onward?"

"You're the Trainer," Ratt replied.

**That's chapter one. If there's anything that I need to work on, let me know. And don't forget to follow and favorite and review.**


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